Biography

For her debut album Arwen, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Arwen Lewis
chose to offer up her own impassioned interpretation of music that’s quite literally
in her DNA. The daughter of Moby Grape founding member Peter Lewis (and granddaughter
of Oscar- and Emmy Award-winning actress Loretta Young), Arwen took on a selection of
the legendary San Francisco band’s songs and revamped their psychedelia-tinged brand
of rock music for a whole new era.

Built on her raw but graceful guitar work and gorgeously
soulful vocals, the result is a blend of melody-laced folk, gritty blues, and powerfully
charged rock & roll that feels both timeless and undeniably of-the-moment.

To create the album, Arwen worked in close collaboration with her father and Academy
Award-winning, Grammy Award-nominated producer/longtime Moby Grape fan John DeNicola.
Featuring the soul-stirring “Omaha” (a rollicking anthem authored by the late Skip Spence,
its title a play on the mantra-induced revelation “Om…aha!”) along with the gloriously
epic and harmony-driven “Indifference” (another Spence number) and the sweetly melancholy
ballad “Sitting by the Window” (penned by Peter Lewis), Arwen puts a new spin on Moby
Grape’s multi-vocalist approach by placing Arwen as lead singer on each track. Thanks
to her uncommonly honest vocals, Arwen infuses every song with a warm intimacy and gives
new vitality to Moby Grape’s lush and edgy lyricism.

“Arwen’s a child of the San Francisco sound, and she’s got
an ease of delivery that lets that sound flow through her in a way that just feels completely
fresh,” DeNicola points out.

Arwen first began honing her natural musicianship several years ago, mainly by learning
guitar and songwriting under her father’s guidance (as well as resuming her childhood
studies in piano). After taking time to develop her craft and find her voice as a musical
artist, Arwen joined her father in self-recording a batch of Moby Grape songs at her
family’s California home. The bicoastal collaboration between artist and producer began
when Arwen and Peter scratched out the structure of the songs, a process that DeNicola
continued by building up the tracks with a host of musicians in his New York City studio.
Culminating with Arwen and her father joining DeNicola in New York to contribute their
final vocals and guitar parts, Arwen holds true to Moby Grape’s musical vision by
re-creating the band’s signature three-guitar orchestration. And in the case of “If
You Can’t Learn from My Mistakes” (written by Peter Lewis), that kaleidoscopic guitar
sound is rounded out with a guest performance from the Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian.

Arwen was born partly from an urge to unearth what its creator considers a musical hidden
gem.

“I remember listening to Moby Grape when I was younger and
realizing how they’ve influenced a lot of authentic rock & roll, and even had some
similarities to the punk music I loved,” says Arwen. “It’s like they were unknowingly
setting something up for the artists that would come along years after them.”

With her other key inspirations ranging
from Billie Holiday to Miles Davis to folk poet Tim Hardin, Arwen aims to channel that
authenticity and forward-looking but classically minded sensibility into her future musical
endeavors. And as the album approaches its release, Arwen says she’s excited to experience
the songs along with live audiences. “To me music has always been about breaking barriers
between people,” Arwen notes. “Playing and singing have become my connection to the world,
and I want these songs to be for everybody.”